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Mark Kiszla: He's no longer beltin' Helton, so sit him more

Todd Helton walks back to the dugout after striking out against the Arizona Diamondbacks on June 5 in Phoenix, Arizona. (Ralph Freso, Getty Images)

How do you tell the greatest hitter in Rockies history his time is up as an everyday player?

When Todd Helton's name is written on the starting lineup card, there are now days when you wonder if Jim Tracy is managing more with his heart than his head.

It's emotionally difficult to phase out Helton, the team's first legitimate Hall of Fame candidate.

If at-bats are based on merit, however, Tracy must find a way to play Helton less. As his brilliant career winds down, Helton should take a place on the bench four games out of 10.

When Helton went missing from the starting lineup for the third time in five games Monday in St. Louis, it was a sign of more than a nagging hip injury.

For Helton, it's a sign of things to come.

Desperate for victories, the Rockies need more Tyler Colvin, less Helton.

Helton should also do some job-sharing with Michael Cuddyer, whose acquisition by general manager Dan O'Dowd is a blunt reminder that $10 million doesn't go as far as it once did.

So long as a team on pace to lose more than 95 times sees common sense in giving 41-year-old Jason Giambi a handful of starts at first base every month, there's also more time on the pine for Helton.

The pop is gone from Helton's bat. He is no longer a hitter who belongs in the middle of the lineup with any regularity. Even for a first baseman as slick with the glove as Helton, it's hard to justify playing a corner infielder primarily on the basis of his defense.

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With his 39th birthday rapidly approaching, Helton has stopped hitting left-handed pitchers. Against southpaws, his statistics this season remind us all what a drag it can be growing old: a .200 batting average, with only eight extra-base hits and eight walks.

Whenever asked about his use rate of Helton in the lineup, Tracy calmly replies the Toddfather is only a swing away from getting hot.

Or maybe not.

Although Helton has always liked to hit in the summer heat, his recent power outage has resembled an air conditioner with a warranty long expired. Helton huffs, puffs and grinds loudly, but doesn't blow anybody away. After smashing four homers and lashing 11 extra-base hits in 67 at-bats during April, Helton produced only 10 extra-base hits in 144 at-bats during May and June.

Colvin was run out of town by the Chicago Cubs, of all people. But he appears to have a found a home in Colorado. His acquisition in a trade involving Ian Stewart was one shrewd offseason move by O'Dowd. After hitting .339 with five homers and 17 runs batted in during June, Colvin deserves a chance to prove if he can be an everyday player in the future for a team going nowhere in the present.

Helton will listen to his body and leave baseball on his own terms. When I suggested he should retire in 2010, Helton not only ignored the advice but came back and batted .302 the next season. So there. Never again will I tell Helton when to hang up the spikes.

But is it fair to mention that since 2010, Helton's slugging percentage is more than 100 points below his career average? He's still a solid ballplayer when healthy. He's just not Todd Helton anymore.

The time is near when the Rockies must sit down with Helton and map out a new role for him.

If Helton returns to the team next season, could he be happy in the twilight of his career replacing Giambi as the wise, old voice of reason in the clubhouse? Would Helton be willing to start at first base on occasion, grab a bat to pinch hit in key situations and serve as a late-inning defensive replacement?

Then again, the Rockies don't like asking tough questions.

This team grades on an extremely generous curve.

If O'Dowd can't lose his job for failure to produce a winner, how are the Rockies ever going to tell Helton he must sit down for failure to hit home runs?